on section 7, Barneston Township, where he engaged in farming until 1883. He then bought the land on which he now resides, at the June land sales, and has since made his home on section 10. His large farm has-been well improved by his own labor and industry, and on it he has erected a good house. barns, and the necessary farm buildings, made fences and planted groves of native timber, besides Orchards of fruit trees. He is extensively engaged in general farming and stock-raising, receiving from his fertile fields abundant harvests of cereals and the ordinary farm produce, while his pastures are well stocked with a good grade of cattle, horses and hogs. His farm, very pleasantly located, is supplied with running water, and is the source of a comfortable income.

Mr. Jones was married in his native country, in January, 1864, to Miss Ruth Williams, who was also born in Wales. She grew to womanhood and received her education near the home of her birth, perfecting herself in the womanly virtues and accomplishments which have enabled her to make for her husband a pleasant and attractive home. Since their residence in this county they have gathered around them a large circle of friends and acquaintances. They are members in good standing of the Presbyterian Church, and are eminently worthy of mention among the citizens of Barneston Township.

NDREW S. BICKERTON, editor and publisher of the Blue Springs Sentinel, has been a resident of this place since the spring of 1885. He is popular in his community, and well fitted for the position which he occupies as the conductor of an important news journal. The paper is ably edited, and has become almost indispensable to the reading classes of this part of the county.

The subject of this
sketch is of pure English ancestry, being the son of Thomas and Margaret Bickerton,
who crossed the Atlantic in 1854. Settling in Marshall County, Ill., the father,
engaged in coal mining until 1870. Then, changing his residence to LaSalle
County, he became engaged in mercantile business, which he continued until
his death, which occurred on the 11th of March, 1872. The mother was in her
girlhood Miss Margaret Stevenson, a native of the same country as her husband,
and who crossed the Atlantic with her parents in 1854. They settled in Illinois,
where she was married to Thomas Bickerton that same year. They became the parents
of three children, two only of whom are living: Mrs. Thomas S. Morgan, residing
at Streator, Ill., and the subject of this sketch. Mrs. Margaret Bickerton
departed this life May 12, 1879, at Streator, Ill.

The paternal grandfather of our subject, also Thomas by name, was a native of Northumberland, England. and there spent his entire life engaged as a coal miner. Andrew S., our subject, was born at Sparland, Marshall Co., Ill., and there received his early education in the common school. Later he attended the High School at Streator, and afterward assisted his father in business, until learning the printer's trade, he was first employed in the office of the Monitor, and was connected afterward with various offices in that part of the State. He finally drifted to Chicago, and was employed in various job offices in that city until 1885, in the spring of which year he came to Blue Springs, and shortly afterward established the Sentinel, and is rapidly bringing it to the modern standard of the local newspaper.

A Republican politically Mr. Bickerton
is prominent in political affairs, and has been sent as a delegate to the State
Conventions for the nomination of important officials, and otherwise making
himself indispensable to the well-being of the party in this section. He resides
with his family in the western part of the city, where they are in the enjoyment
of a snug home, and all the other comforts of life. The wife of our subject,
to whom he was married in Streator, Ill., Nov. 25, 1880, was formerly Miss
Hettie E. Persons, who was born at the farm homestead of her parents, near
Chatsworth, Ill., Aug. 24, 1857, and is the daughter of Elihu and Emily (Gunsul)
Persons, both natives of New York. Mr. Persons was reared to manhood in the
Empire State, where he resided, occupied as a farmer, until emigrating to Illinois,
and was one of the earliest settlers of Kendall County. Late in life he retired
from active labor, and spent his last years

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in the town of Salem, Ill., where his death took place in the fall of 1874.

The mother of Mrs.
Bickerton, Emily (Gunsul) Persons, is now living in Streator. The family included
four children, three daughters and one son, all of whom are living. The daughters
remain with their mother, assisting in the duties of the hotel, restaurant
and bakery, in which they became interested in 1879, after the death of the
father. Hettie, Mrs. Bickerton, received a fine musical education, having at
an early age evinced more than ordinary talent in connection with this art.
She excels as a vocalist, and her voice is considered one of the finest in
this part of the county. She is also a skilled performer on the piano and other
musical instruments.

To our subject and
his estimable wife there have been born two children, one of whom, a son, died
when nine months old. The remaining child, Emily Belle, was born May 19, 1882,
and is now a bright little girl of six years.

OHN O. SAMSEL has seen a great deal of pioneer life, having been one of the first settlers in Elm Township, where he now owns a fine farm on section 12. His father was John G. Samsel, who was born in Frederick County, Va., and was a harness-maker by trade, he died in Virginia, after having reared a family of six children, of whom our subject was the fourth. His wife, the mother of our subject, was Rosa (Grim) Samsel, who was born in Winchester. Va., and is still living at the advanced age of eighty-two years. Her father served as a private in the Revolutionary War.

The gentleman in whose
honor this sketch is written was born in Frederick County, Va., on the 8th
of September, 1830, and there he attended the common schools, and received
a fairly good education. When he reached the age of twenty-two years he began
to carry on business for himself, and engaged in farming. In 1859 he moved
to Henry County, Ind., where he continued his vocation for a period of eight
years, after which he moved to Woodford County, Ill. Desiring to see still
more of this great undeveloped section, he came farther West, and in 1875 settled
in Elm Township, this county, on his present farm, consisting of 160 acres.
There were but a few families here when he came, and in common with them he
had to undergo many hardships and labor under many disadvantages in bringing
his farm to its present state of cultivation.

In October, 1851, our subject was married, in Monongalia County, W. Va., to Miss Caroline Davis, who was born in that county in 1826. Her parents, Peter and Kezia Reed Davis, were both natives of West Virginia, and reared a family of seven children, of whom the wife of our subject is the eldest. The mother died in the year 1846, and the father in 1887. Mrs. Samsel is a woman of great courage and force of character, and it was by her encouragement, sympathy and womanly aid that her husband was enabled to persevere and overcome the difficulties which surrounded their early life in this section, she having patiently submitted to the discomforts, hoping thereby to be more pleasantly situated in the future. As a reward of their labors they now have a very excellent farm, on which they have made many improvements, and have set out beautiful groves of forest trees, and an orchard of fine fruit trees.

Our subject and his wife have been blessed
with a family of seven children, some of whom have already gone forth from
the parental roof, and are nicety established in homes of their own. Their
names are: John W., Rosa, Amalva, Millard F., Ulysses S., Della and Eunice.
John W. married Miss Mary Richison, and they reside at Beatrice, at which place
he is baggage-master; they have two children--Daniel and Rollin. Rosa is the
wife of Henry Burke, and they also reside in Beatrice, where Mr. B. is engaged
in the insurance business; they have four children--Carrie H., Effie, Henry
and Eugene. Amalva M. is the wife of Daniel H. Wilson, who is engaged in the
mercantile business in Beatrice, and in their home they have four children--Stella,
Albert, John and Russel; Eunice is the wife of William Lenhart, who is a molder
in the foundry at Beatrice, and they have two children--Lulu and a babe; Millard
F. married Miss Marietta Andrews, and is farming in Sicily Town-

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705

ship; they have two children--Osa and Ora. Ulysses and Della are living at home with their parents.

While our subject has been so successful as an agriculturist, he has yet shown a great deal of enterprise and interest in behalf of the public welfare, and for five years has acted in capacity of Treasurer of the schools of his township. He is a Republican in politics, and is anxious that the best methods should be adopted for the government of the country. He and his wife are esteemed and active members in the Methodist Church, and as a family who have done much toward the building up of this township they merit an honorable mention in this work.

A view of our subject's place appears elsewhere in this volume.

ILLIAM
E. MUDGE, a view of whose homestead appears elsewhere in this volume, is a
well-to-do farmer of Elm Township, having his residence on section 1. A man
but a trifle past his prime, he comes of an excellent family, being the son
of Edwin and Katherine (Woolley) Mudge, both of whom were born in Kent, England,
where the father in early life followed farming a short time, then became a
brick-maker. The parental family consisted of four children--William E., Rosanna,
Edwin and Eliza.

The subject of this sketch was born on the 6th of October, 1833, in Kent, England, and remained at home with his parents until he became of age. In receiving his education he attended the district school of his neighborhood until about nine years of age; after that time be was employed in the brickyard assisting his father. A short time after reaching his majority he was married, Dec. 25, 1854, to Miss Elizabeth Homdin, in Kent. This lady, a native of the same place as her husband, was born on the 8th of April, 1836. Her parents, Thomas and Cordelia (Berry) Homdin, were also natives of Kent. The parental household included eight children, namely: William, Thomas, John, Richard, Robert, Sarah, Mary Anne and Elizabeth.

On the 23d of March, 1855, Mr. Mudge with his wife and family took passage on the sailing vessel "Webster" for America, and landed in New York City on the 30th of April following. They at once proceeded to the vicinity of Utica, N. Y., where Mr. Mudge engaged in farming three years. In 1858 they removed to Chillicothe, the county seat of Livingston County, Mo., in which place our subject continued to work at his old trade of brick-making three years, and until near the opening of the Civil War. There then being a company of hostile Southerners known as Quantrell's Band, located in the neighborhood near which our subject lived, he being a strong Union man was compelled to go further north in order to be free from molestation from them.

In the spring of 1861
Mr. Mudge moved to Mud Creek, Gage County, this State, where he bought forty
acres of land, and for two years carried on farming. He took an interest in
the improvement of the country and helped to build the first schoolhouse at
Beatrice. In the spring of 1863 he went further west, and started "Buffalo
Ranch" on the Little Blue, in what was then Nuckolls County, which he
operated for a little over three years, and was meeting with fair success until
August, 1868, when the Indians made a raid on the neighborhood, drove away
nearly all the cattle, and Mr. Mudge and his fatuity were again compelled to
seek safety in flight. He lost all his stock, which was driven off by the Indians,
together with his household goods. About all he and his family saved was the
wearing apparel which they had on. The loss of Mr. Mudge and his partner was
found by careful calculation to be $7,450.50.

Mr. Mudge served five months in the Territorial
militia called out by Gov. Butler, and took part in the efforts made to disperse
the Indians. He received for his own services $16 per month, and for his horse
$12 and rations. They had no actual battles with the savages. but our subject
gained quite an inkling of general warfare. After the command was disbanded
Mr. Mudge went back to his ranch, where he remained about sixteen months. He
was obliged to commence at the foot of the ladder again, having lost everything,
and in August, 1866, sought refuge in Elm Township, this county, where he homesteaded
his present farm of 160 acres, which is located on sections 1 and 2, and

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upon which he has made all the improvements that we behold to-day. Later he added forty acres to his first purchase and has now 200 acres, which is steadily increasing in value.

In the family of our
subject there have been seven children, namely: Willie E., George T., Samuel,
Charles, Annie, Nathan and Katie. Willie E. married Miss Elizabeth Mathias,
and is residing in Elm Township, being the father of two children--Ray W. and
Muriel. Samuel H., living in Elm Township. married Miss Elizabeth Bevins. The
remainder of the children are at home with their parents. Mr. Mudge has been
a School Director for eight years. He belongs to the I. O. G. T., and politically,
is a very ardent Republican. Both he and his wife are members of the Methodist
Church.

In the summer of 1888 Mr. Mudge visited his boyhood home and other places of interest in England, returning after an absence of about two months. As a man enjoying the esteem and confidence of his fellow-citizens, he is entitled to honorable mention among the worthy pioneers of Gage County.

OHN
W. ISLEY. Upon section 33 of Nemaha Township is situated the residence and
U farm of the gentleman whose name is at the head of this sketch, and it were
hard to find a more hospitable, genial man, or enterprising, industrious and
successful farmer. The grandfather of our subject, after whom he was named,
was born in Pennsylvania, of German parents, who had emigrated and settled
in that State. His father, the great-grandfather of our subject, served through
the Revolutionary War. The father of our subject was a native of Guilford County,
N. C., as was also his wife. He removed to Missouri in 1837, taking with him
his family and becoming one of its earliest pioneers, entering with zest into
all the experiences of that new life. Until about one year after his marriage
he had continued to reside in North Carolina. He purchased a farm of 160 acres
in Missouri, and there accumulated considerable property. In 1868 he sold his
farm there, and came to this State, where he purchased a farm of the same size
as his Missouri property. He died in 1885, aged seventy-four years. His wife,
the mother of our subject, survived him about one year, and died at the home
of our subject in 1886, at the advanced age of seventy-one years. Their family
included seven children, whose names are as follows: John W. (our subject),
Hannah J., Mary E., Richard W., James O. K., Dica A., and one who died in infancy.

Our subject was born Aug. 9, 1838, in Knoxville Township, Ray Co., Mo., which at that time was nearly all covered with heavy timber growth. The school system of the State at the time was after a very primitive fashion, and the school-houses were situated at such distances as to render attendance exceedingly precarious work. The education of our subject was, therefore, very limited upon the line of school topics, but diametrically reverse regarding the work of the farm, whether in the line of general farm work or among the stock.

Until Mr. Isley had almost reached the age of twenty-two years he remained working upon his father's farm, but Sept. 15, 1860, he became the husband of Miss Melinda C. Albright, and they then started life for themselves. This lady was the educated and beautiful daughter of Joshua and Jane (Patton) Albright, both natives of North Carolina, and like Mr. and Mrs. Isley were of German ancestry, of whom members had emigrated to America in anti-Revolutionary days, and had become planters in Carolina, and helped to settle the question of independence by taking a full share in the Revolution, fighting for freedom. Her father died at the age of sixty-eight years, in 1874. Her mother still resides upon the homestead in Ray County, Mo., whither they had removed in 1840; she is seventy-six years of age, and is the mother of five children, whose names are here given, viz: Cornelia A., William, Melinda C., Delilah J. and Eliza M.

The wife of our subject was born on the 11th of August, 1839, in Ray County, Mo. After her marriage she resided with her husband at the old Isley homestead in Missouri, and there were born five of their children. In 1868 the family removed to Nebraska, prosecuting the whole journey, which occupied eighteen days, by the means of a wagon and team. They were accompanied by his father

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707

and family, who also had his own wagon and team. If the incidents of that journey, with its hopes and fears, its possibilities and actual happenings, could be given, the modern method of journeying would be insufferably dull and prosy, albeit so far in advance in point of comfort and rapidity. They located in the northwestern corner of Gage County, and were soon happily settled in their first dug-out, where many of their happiest moments were spent, and which will ever be remembered as their haven of rest and refuge after their toilsome journey from the southeast. One of the chief reasons for this change was that a man of Northern sympathies could not enjoy his right of citizenship, owing to the excitement of the times.

In this home were born the remainder of the family of our subject, which included in all eleven children, whose names are recorded as follows: James M.. who died in Missouri; Wilber C., Mary J., Charles C.. Dica A., Flora A., Rosa L., Peter, Johnnie, Hardy E. and Gracie. Wilber C. married Miss Mary Littlejohn, and resides at Hanover; Mary J. is the wife of Thomas Duncan, of Hooker Township, and is the mother of one daughter, to whom has been given the name of Bertha; Dica A. is happily married to John Hannibal, of Hooker Township; the other children are still at home. In addition to the home farm, of which a faithful representation will be found on another page, our subject is operating 320 acres of Kincaid land, and 320 of Scully land, and also owns another farm of 160 acres. His chief attention is given to general farming, to raising wheat, corn, flax and oats, although considerable attention is devoted to cattle-raising. Our subject seldom has less than about seventy-five head of cattle, and a third of that number of horses upon his farm. He ships to the Eastern market probably about thirty-five head of each per annum. He has constant employment for seven teams of horses and one span of mules.

Mr. and Mrs. Isley are both members in good standing of the Grand View Baptist Church, and are considered among the most attached and earnest of its members. They are justly held in the highest esteem, for there are few who endeavor to put into practice their profession more successful in the same than they. Their residence presents all those marks of refinement and beauty of arrangement and detail that go to make home a place of strongest attraction; that makes the members of the domestic circle feel it is the best place of any to them, and the stranger and visitor within the gates to retain lingering memories ever after of the most delightfully restful and felicitous description. This influence is, as it always must be. that of the wife and mother. Our subject has for some years held the office of School Treasurer, and discharged its duties faithfully. His political sympathies are with the Democratic party, but his manliness, high character, enterprise, loyalty and success, are such that his friends are not limited by the difference of political opinion. The entire community hold our subject and family in highest regard.

The military experience
of our subject was not lengthy, and yet not without its dangers and loyal,
heroic effort. He enlisted in Company A, 5th Missouri Cavalry, and was mustered
in at Richmond, of that State, for a term of three years. He took part in a
number of engagements, among others, at Richmond, Lexington and Chillicothe.
During his service he engaged in several desperate skirmishes and hand-to-hand
fights with Quantrell's men, and in one pursuit remained three days and three
nights in the saddle, but finally succeeded in the capture of seventy-five
of that notorious gang. Our subject was honorably discharged at Lexington in
1864, his term having expired, and returned home to the duties of the farm,
but while thus engaged was captured and carried off by members of the same
band, although he succeeded a short time after in making his escape by strategy.

OHN L. DAVIS is widely and favorably known as a stock-raiser and shipper. His farm is situated on section 27 of Blue Springs Township. He was born on the 6th of March, 1860, in Cambria County, Pa., and is the son of William Davis, now deceased, a native of the same county, who was a blacksmith by trade, and considered a skilled worker. His home was in Ebensburg. the county seat of Cambria County, where he had quite a large patronage and business.

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In the above city
the early years of our subject were spent in its schools he was educated, and
afterward engaged in general work, in which he continued until he was about
twenty-two years of age. In 1883 he came to this State, stopping for five months
to work in Red Cloud. Upon reaching Blue Springs he began to work for the
National Lumber Company, and continued to do so for about three and a half
years, and then began farming.

The farm of our subject is 250 acres in extent, and is utilized chiefly as a stock farm, although considerable attention is given to grain; at the same time large quantities of feed are required for his stock, which is never less than 1,500 bushels of oats, the same of corn, and fifty tons of hay, besides straw, etc., per annum. He has supplied his farm with substantial, commodious barns, stables, and other necessary buildings. Everything. however, indicates the practical. rather than the fancy farmer, and although beauty is not lost sight of, it is rendered subservient to utility.

Although dealing in raising and shipping stock of all kinds, our subject makes a specialty of horse-raising, and at the same time gives much attention to the breeding of Poland-China hogs. In this regard he has made a considerable reputation as raising and supplying only the best grades. In his stables are to be found at all times a number of very fine horses; this department of his farm receives his chief attention, and of this section of his business his chief delight is in raising fast trotting horses. One especially fine creature is named "Rebel Medium," who was sired by "Happy Medium;" another is "Lycurgus," who was sired by "Aberdeen." The above and several other horses that might be mentioned are pedigreed, standard thoroughbreds. There is, perhaps, one other deserving mention here, whose record is 2:40, "Shakespeare," sired by "Ahdallah." Each of the above are Kentucky horses, of which the owner is justly proud.

The business interests of our subject engross his attention and demand the greater part of his time. He does not, therefore, take so prominent a place in political and other outside matters as he might otherwise do. He is neither a seeker after, nor holder of office, but whenever occasion demands is quick to respond to any demand that may be made upon him as a loyal and patriotic citizen. Usually he votes with the Republican party. Socially, he is connected with the Masonic fraternity, and is a member of Blue Springs Lodge No. 85, which meets at Blue Springs. As a man of business he is respected as being honorable in his transactions, as a friend and citizen highly esteemed as a man of high character, and welcomed as a genial, clever and affable companion.

RANCIS
E. CROCKER. Upon the banks of the Hudson River, whose beauties have been told
on both sides of the Atlantic, in sober prose, or the more moving cadences
of the poet-the home of the Storm King; historic Sleepy Hollow, and numerous
other points of all-absorbing interest in a quiet homestead not far from Ft.
Edward was born, upon the 1st of April, 1832, the subject of this biographical
sketch. His father, John Crocker, now deceased, and likewise several generations
had been born in that same dwelling. His mother was a native of the same town.

Our subject spent his early years in
and around the old homestead, and continued to do so until the year 1853, when
he went to California, and for two years tried his fortune at the gold mines.
In this he was somewhat favored, and before his return had amassed sufficient
dust and nuggets to give him a fairly good start in life. With this he proceeded
in 1856 to Ashland County, Ohio, and engaged in mercantile business. Two years
later he returned to York State, and at the close of a like period settled
in Cumberland County, Ill., removing after another two years to Champaign County,
in the same State, in 1863, and engaged in farming, with an annually increasing
prosperity, until the year 1882, with the exception of the last three years,
during which time he was engaged in transactions of a general mercantile character
at Bondville. In 1882 he established himself in business in Liberty, and has
manifested large business capacity, enterprise and push, with the result that
his business has continuously increased until the present time. He usually
carries a stock of not less than $6,000 value,

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709

his annual sales amounting in the gross to not less than $12,000, exclusive of his dealings in grain and cattle.

Upon the 1st of .January,
1857, our subject entered into "the better state and completer life," by
his marriage with Mary A. Huston. This lady is the daughter of Samuel and Jane
(McMurray) Huston, the former of whom is deceased, and was born in the State
of New York. She has presented her husband with three children, two of whom
are still living, and are named Charles and Hattie. The former is now the husband
of Miss Alma Bickett, and resides about seven miles northeast of Liberty, in
this county, and his sister is the wife of J. Newton Lytle, also of this county,
and is the mother of three children, whose names are as follows: Mamie, Frances
and John.

While at Bondville, in Illinois, our subject was for several years Postmaster, and by his promptness. exactitude and geniality, was both efficient and highly esteemed in that office. Both our subject and wife had been members of the Methodist Church for many years until 1886, when they joined the United Presbyterian Church, and are regarded as among the most stanch and devout members of that communion, and by their uniform consistency and interest in matters pertaining thereto are accorded the confidence and respect of the entire community.

ICHARD J. MILLER, one of the most enterprising young farmers and business men of Adams Township, deserves more than a passing notice among the solid citizens of this part of the county. He began the struggle for his maintenance at an early age, and has fought his way through many obstacles unaided and alone. That he has met with the legitimate reward of his perseverance is a source of satisfaction, not only to himself, but to the many friends whom he has made by the exercise of those principles which form the basis of all true manhood. Mr. Miller has now a comfortable home on section 17, and the prospect of a competency in his old age.

Jefferson and Helen
(Boston) Miller, the parents of our subject, were natives of Kentucky, where
they were reared to mature years. Both left the Blue Grass State and settled
in Holt County, Mo., where before the war they were married, and the father
engaged successfully in the drug trade and livery business. He became wealthy,
but his property was swept away in the vicissitudes of that unhappy conflict.
He died while still a young man, in 1863, leaving his widow and their only
child, Richard J. The latter was born June 2, 1861, in Holt County, Mo., and
lived there until a little lad six years of age, He has no recollections of
his father. He continued with his widowed mother, coming with her in 1868
to Lancaster County, this State, of which he remained a resident until the
spring of 1888. He acquired a good education in the city of Lincoln, and was
graduated from the High School there in the class of '81.

Young Miller commenced his business career as a clerk in the store of H. C. Lett, with whom he remained for a period of three years. We next find him in the employ of E. C. Miller two years, and subsequently with the wholesale house of Osborn & Draper. The experience which he had by this time gained seemed to justify him in establishing a business of his own. He became interested in the wholesale woolen and dry-goods trade, and traveled considerably throughout Northern Nebraska and Kansas. He was fairly successful, considering his limited capital, but judged it best to close out for a time at least, and in company with a partner set up in the grocery trade at Lincoln, the firm name being Miller & Miller.

Our subject built up a good trade in the grocery line, and by his straightforward methods of doing business secured many friends. At the same time he speculated considerably in real estate. In the meantime he established a home and domestic ties by being married, July 22, 1883, to one of the most intelligent and estimable young ladies of Lincoln, namely, Miss Isadora, daughter of Joseph and Sarah (Casebolt) Rhodes, of Richland County, Wis. Mrs. Miller is the fourth in a family of five children, and was born at Baraboo, Wis., June 30, 1862. She was given a good education and completed her studies at Sextonville High School, and subsequently taught four years in Richland County, Wis. She came to Nebraska on a visit to Lincoln,

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and formed the acquaintance of Mr. Miller, which ripened into a mutual attachment. They are now the parents of two interesting children, Earl and Leoto, the former four years old and the latter one year old.

Mr. Miller purchased his present very valuable farm of 120 acres in Adams Township in 1888, and is here building up a very attractive home, he keeps himself well informed in regard to matters of general interest, and usually votes independently, aiming to support the man best qualified to serve the interests of the people. In 1572 and 1874 he was a page in the Nebraska Legislature; during the Constitutional Convention he was also a page.

ARCUS
LEACH. It goes without saying that every city that has ever been built has
been of interest and has made its reputation to a large extent because of the
structural beauty and design of its buildings, whether they he simple residences,
vast business blocks, civic or State buildings, legal palaces or public buildings
for the purpose of instructing the people in science, art, etc. It is, therefore,
safe to say that a most important profession in any city is that of the architect.
If he be proficient and possesses an adaptability for and delight in his work,
it is well; but how many important streets in large cities have been spoiled
by disfigurements of stone and brick, because, forsooth. some architect had
made a mistake in the choice of professions. It is a common remark that "a
doctor's mistake is buried; a surgeon's always stares him in the face." The
latter remark would be more truthful as a rule if applied to the architect
who lacks an appreciation of the beauty and effect of a perfect outline, and
a care in the harmonious placing of the often complicated and minor details
incident to his designs.

One of the most worthy
of mention in the above profession is the subject of this writing, a resident
of Wymore. Our subject was born near Lockport, N. Y., March 1, 1839. His father
was a native of Canada, and became the husband of Maria Farnham, a native of
Toronto, Canada, and in that city they had a large property. Their family included
nine sons and two daughters, of whom all but one are living, and he fell in
the defense of his country. Mr. and Mrs. Leach removed with their family to
Franklin Grove, near Dixon, Ill., and lived there until the death of the former
in the year 1855, leaving to his family a valuable property in real estate.
Mrs. Leach is still living at Red Oak, Iowa, with her youngest daughter, and
is aged over seventy-seven years. Her mother, Mrs. Farnham, was removed by
death only four years since, having reached the very advanced age of ninety-nine
years and six months.

Our subject was reared
in Lockport until about fifteen years of age, and in the schools of that place
received a good practical education. About the year 1854 his parents removed
to Dixon, Ill. He continued with his father, and was initiated into the minutia
of farm work until he came to the age of sixteen years. He then went to Mendota
and afterward to LaSalle, Ill., in order to study architecture under a very
efficient architect, and continued with him for some time. While still a young
man he began contracting sometimes for quite large works. In the year 1862
he removed to Ackley, Iowa, and was there for ten years, then went to Red Oak.
At the latter place he purchased a large stock farm, and for five years was
prominent as one of the most successful stock-raisers, but at the end of that
period he sold his farm and stock, and took up his old profession at Beaver
City, Furnas County, in this State, and after two years came to Wymore. The
date of his settlement was April, 1881, before the city plats were recorded,
and he erected the first house worthy the name upon the site of the present
bustling, progressive and growing city. That house still stands where built,
but is much improved, the location being the corner of Bloomfield and Norwich
streets.

Mr. and Mrs. Leach have lived to see the city develop from the above condition, and have watched house after house erected until the city attained its present growth. Nearly every building of note in the city has been designed by and most of them contracted for by our subject. During the last four years Mr. Leach has enjoyed a very widespread reputation, and has put up many large buildings in other cities. Among these might

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be cited those on which he is engaged at this writing. These are the court-house at Beaver City, a school-house at Arapahoe, Furnas County; he is superintending the erection of the school-house at Republican City, this State, and also at Almena and Norton, Kan., the latter school-house being under contract price of $1,300. These suffice to show that the services of Mr. Leach are in demand, and are valued throughout a large territory. Our subject is the owner of four houses and lots on Norwich street; he also owns a store and other real estate, both improved and unimproved. He has at present 150 men in regular employment, and is seldom able to be at home during the summer.

The wedded life of
our subject must be told in two chapters; the, one short and vailed in sadness,
the other both longer and brighter. He was united in marriage about the year
1858, but after a brief wedded life he was left by the death of his wife with
three young children, who were named Clara, Don and Homer. On the 27th day
of September, 1876, he became the husband of Alice C. Detrick, of Belvidere,
Ill., who is still living. This lady was born on the 11th of March, 1844, at
Bloomsburg, Columbia Co., Pa. When she was nine years of age her parents removed
to Illinois, and there made their home, where Mrs. Leach lived until her marriage.
Her father, Benjamin Detrick, was by occupation a miller, and was born upon
a farm in Columbia County, Pa. He died at Belvidere in 1860, aged forty-one
years. His wife, the mother of Mrs. Leach. was a Miss Margaret Brown, a native
of the same State, who was born in the year 1818, daughter of Joseph Brown,
who was engaged in business as a boot and shoe maker in Bloomsburg. Mrs. Detrick
continued to live at home until her marriage. She is still living, having bravely
struggled since her husband's death to give her children, of whom there were
seven, a fair start in life. This she has been able to do for those who came
to years of maturity, with the happiness of seeing them present those characteristics
which insure an honorable and respected life and character. She has now reached
her seventy-first year, and makes her home with her youngest daughter.

Our subject and wife
attend the Congregational Church at Wymore, and they are numbered among the
best citizens of that place, being very highly esteemed by the whole community.
Our subject is a member of both the I. O. O. F. and the A. F. & A. M. fraternities,
and in both enjoys the entire confidence of his fellows. In political matters
he has long been a very stanch Republican, and energetic in behalf of that
cause.

DGAR E. HARDEN, the gentlemanly Cashier of the bank in Liberty, in that capacity does credit to his own ability, and to the confidence reposed in him by the Directors of the bank. He was born in Lee County, Ill., on the 15th of April, 1859, and is a son of Solomon Harden (deceased), who was a native of Pennsylvania, and went to Illinois about the year 1848. Our subject spent his childhood on his father's farm, and finished his education by a course of instruction in the Illinois State University at Champaign, being graduated in June, 1880. In the time of his collegiate course, before he had made choice of the profession which he would follow, he engaged for one year in teaching school. Deciding that in the legal profession there is much honor, and feeling assured of a successful career if he were to adopt that profession, he read law, beginning where all students must begin, with the tiresome pages of "Blackstone."

No doubt during this course of reading our subject suffered many a headache from the effort to retain in his memory all the long technical terms and illustrations of that excellent writer, but persevering to the end he finished his course in a satisfactory manner, and was admitted to the Illinois State Bar in 1881. In January, 1882, he came to Beatrice and practiced his profession until October of the same year, when, his present position in this city being offered him, he accepted it, and came to Liberty. His older brother, William W. Harden, is President of the bank, and is doing a large amount of business, having the confidence of the citizens of this thriving city.

Mr. Harden was married, on the 1st of March, 1883, to Miss Georgia A. Geer, a daughter of James Geer, of Lee County, Ill. To this established home

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there have come two children, Fred
and Grace, to lighten the pathway of their parents, and brighten their home.
Our subject has become the owner of a large amount of land, having 280 acres
in this county and 1,920 acres in the western part of this State and Kansas.
While he is public-spirited, and takes an active interest in the public affairs
of the day, he has not time to devote his service exclusively to outside affairs,
and consequently never seeks official honors. He is a member of the social
order of A. O. U. W. He affiliates with the Republican party in politics, and
is in a fair way to attain the highest measure of success in life. At present
he has discontinued the contemplation of "incorporeal hereditaments," and
confines himself to the stern facts of everyday business matters. Mrs. Harden
is a member of the Presbyterian Church, and is in every respect a most admirable
lady.

L.
TINKLEPAUGH, of Filley Township, is regarded as one of its most solid and substantial,
as well as plain, matter-of-fact and reliable men, whose word is as good as
his bond, and whose judgment is held in universal respect. He was one of the
earliest settlers of this part of the county, and came at a time when energetic
and resolute men were most needed to develop its resources, and encourage to
its borders an industrious and intelligent class of citizens.

Our subject is the offspring of a substantial old family. His father, Almon Tinklepaugh, was born in Smithfield, Madison Co., N. Y., Oct. 25, 1811. Upon leaving his boyhood tramping grounds he migrated first to New York City, from there to Brooklyn, and thence into Wayne County. He had learned cabinet-making early in life, which he followed until its close. He married Miss Caroline Ackerman, a native of Hackensack, N. J., who was born Aug. 15, 1813. From New York they removed to various points, finally locating in Lagrange County, Ind., and from there moved to Pentwater, Mich., where Mr. T. became owner of a farm, carried on his trade, and also invested a part of his capital in dry-goods and general merchandise, carrying on business thus for some time.

In 1872 he retired from active life, and, with his excellent wife, is now enjoying the comforts of a nice home in the city of Pentwater.

To Almon and Caroline
Tinklepaugh there were born five children, two sons and three daughters. Of
these the only son living is our subject. He was born Oct. 25, 1838, in Sodus,
N. Y., where his education began, but before it was completed the family removed
to Indiana. There he attended school and worked on the farm, remaining tinder
the home roof until twenty years old. Wishing now for a change of occupation,
he engaged as clerk in a clothing store at Lagrange, Ind., but one year later,
like many another lad, returned to the farm, and was thereafter mostly engaged
in agricultural pursuits until his marriage. When twenty-two years old Mr.
Tinklepaugh took unto himself a partner and helpmate, Miss Eliza H. Gale, daughter
of Adolphus and Julia A. Gale, and sister of G. H. Gale, a sketch of whom appears
elsewhere in this volume. The wedding occurred at the home of the bride, May
18, 1861, and the young people commenced life together in Steuben County, Ind.

The wife of our subject
was born in the latter-named county, Sept. 16, 1839, and remained with her
parents until her marriage, receiving a fair education, and being trained by
a wise and sensible mother in those duties which have made her an admirable
partner for her husband and an excellent mother to her children, Mr. and Mrs.
T. spent the first seven years of their married life engaged in farming pursuits
in Lagrange and Steuben Counties, Ind., and then our subject tried his hand
at merchandising with his father one year. In 1867 he went to Story County,
Iowa, and purchased a farm of 160 acres, but as his father-in-law had a large
tract of land in this county. Mr. T. was persuaded to sell his Iowa land and
join the former in this county. The two families lived together until two years
later, when our subject put up the house which he now occupies.

The property of Mr. Tinklepaugh includes a fine farm 320 acres in extent, and he makes a specialty of corn and oats. He has made all the improvements on his farm himself, bringing them about only by a course of plodding industry, the only sure process by which success in any undertaking